I've been meaning to post this on Queergam. In the wake of September 11, my American queer friends asked me about Islam. I had to confess that I do know a bit about the faith because I was born in a muslim country, Malaysia. Muslims in Malaysia are great people, loving and caring for other people - Chinese, Indians, Iban, Kadazans, Penan, Orang Ulu and even the lovable Orang Utans. As I learned more about Islam I discovered that there are over one billion Muslims around the world and several million here in the United States. The United States is home to more than 1,200 mosques where Muslims worship Allah, which is their name for God. Muslims are not only Arab, but can be from any ethnic or racial background.
Islam comes from the Arabic root word for "peace." In Afghanistan, Islam is the primary religion. All over Afghanistan, people stop their work or studies at five specific times each day to say their prayers to Allah. Religious leaders read from a holy book called the Quran. Muslims believe that faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and one trip to Mekkah (their holy place) are the five most important responsibilities to Allah.
In the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, they celebrate Ramadhan. It is a time to remember the point in history at which Muhammad received the first words of the Quran, (in early part of the seventh century) as they were given to him by the angel Gabriel. All Muslims are asked to fast for 30 days (they can have small meals at night) and to be kind to their neighbors. At the end of Ramadan, there is a festival called Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (in Malaysia that is and I don't know what it is called in other muslim countries) when the community puts on their best clothing and enjoys a feast of thanksgiving. Now, let me tell you -- Hari Ray is my favorite thanksgiving day in Malaysia - the food/cakes/sweet savories/guilty delights beat anything else on this planet earth. They are soooo delcicious! So Islam is a good religion. Some muslims are not. I lived with my very good, God-fearing Muslim people in an islamic community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The city is ultra modern and people are super educated. The country is richer and more stable, both economically and politically than most Asian countries. We live together and respect each other's religion and beliefs. Not all Muslims are killers (as some of you might think) or want to kill others in order to go to heaven. The real killers are those powerful muslims who didn't stop other muslims to kill others knowing Allah didn't ask muslims to kill to be in heaven. That is my personal opinion.
Jonathan Swift once said, "We have just enough religion to make us hate, and not enough to love one another." The sad fact is that terrorists feel justified in their actions. They believe they work for a higher or greater purpose. As an adult, I cannot make sense out of the reasoning that motivates terrorism so answering a child's "why" questions becomes a special challenge.
As I searched for a simple explanation to this complex question, it seemed that all forms of terrorism shake down to one common denominator: fear. Timothy McVeigh was afraid the federal government was getting too powerful and predicted they would take away civil rights from citizens - unless he stopped them. Islamic extremists are afraid the United States is invading their land and will influence Muslim people away from their religious traditions - unless they stop us. Their fear turns into hate and hate feeds on itself. The predictions of extremists become their prophecies, and in their minds we become a real threat. They convince themselves and others that violent action is the only way to defend their values.
The same fear that motivates terrorism is also at the root of intolerance. In fact, on September 11, 2001, Americans were the victims of intolerance. Men, women, and children were targeted simply because they were American or worked in America.
Since the World Trade Tower attack, there have been reports of discrimination and even physical assaults against Arab Americans. In Anchorage, Alaska, vandals wrote anti-Arab remarks and destroyed equipment at a printing company owned by an Arab American family.
In Chicago, Illinois, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a school for Arab American children. In Cleveland, Ohio, a young man drove his car through the front doors of a local mosque where Muslims meet to worship.
In Houston, Texas, a Goodyear tire store owned by an Arab American was set on fire.
In Los Angeles, California, authorities reported more than 40 hate-related incidents targeting Arab Americans within two weeks of the terror attacks including assaults and bomb threats. And in Reedley, California, an Egyptian man was shot to death in his grocery store two days after finding a death threat on the windshield of his car. The police believed he was killed because the assailants thought he was Arab.
Beyond the obvious moral problems with racial discrimination, it is also just plain bad strategy. First, it is not possible to determine someone's ethnic background just by looking at them. Different races often share similar physical characteristics, which make it hard to identify ethnicity by appearances.
In Los Angeles, a Latino man was pulled from his car and assaulted by a group of men who thought he was Middle Eastern. The assailants will serve time for assaulting someone who had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks.
Secondly, discrimination and hate crimes only serve to perpetuate hate and division. Hate doesn't teach anyone "a lesson." It is always counterproductive. Even if someone believed their cause was fully justified by the horrific toll of terrorism, punishing people because they are of the same race is useless and serves no purpose other than draining resources from the pursuit of the real criminals. If the same "guilt by association" standard was applied to the Oklahoma City bombing, we would have to condemn all white American males with military backgrounds.
Islam comes from the Arabic root word for "peace." In Afghanistan, Islam is the primary religion. All over Afghanistan, people stop their work or studies at five specific times each day to say their prayers to Allah. Religious leaders read from a holy book called the Quran. Muslims believe that faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and one trip to Mekkah (their holy place) are the five most important responsibilities to Allah.
In the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, they celebrate Ramadhan. It is a time to remember the point in history at which Muhammad received the first words of the Quran, (in early part of the seventh century) as they were given to him by the angel Gabriel. All Muslims are asked to fast for 30 days (they can have small meals at night) and to be kind to their neighbors. At the end of Ramadan, there is a festival called Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (in Malaysia that is and I don't know what it is called in other muslim countries) when the community puts on their best clothing and enjoys a feast of thanksgiving. Now, let me tell you -- Hari Ray is my favorite thanksgiving day in Malaysia - the food/cakes/sweet savories/guilty delights beat anything else on this planet earth. They are soooo delcicious! So Islam is a good religion. Some muslims are not. I lived with my very good, God-fearing Muslim people in an islamic community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The city is ultra modern and people are super educated. The country is richer and more stable, both economically and politically than most Asian countries. We live together and respect each other's religion and beliefs. Not all Muslims are killers (as some of you might think) or want to kill others in order to go to heaven. The real killers are those powerful muslims who didn't stop other muslims to kill others knowing Allah didn't ask muslims to kill to be in heaven. That is my personal opinion.
Jonathan Swift once said, "We have just enough religion to make us hate, and not enough to love one another." The sad fact is that terrorists feel justified in their actions. They believe they work for a higher or greater purpose. As an adult, I cannot make sense out of the reasoning that motivates terrorism so answering a child's "why" questions becomes a special challenge.
As I searched for a simple explanation to this complex question, it seemed that all forms of terrorism shake down to one common denominator: fear. Timothy McVeigh was afraid the federal government was getting too powerful and predicted they would take away civil rights from citizens - unless he stopped them. Islamic extremists are afraid the United States is invading their land and will influence Muslim people away from their religious traditions - unless they stop us. Their fear turns into hate and hate feeds on itself. The predictions of extremists become their prophecies, and in their minds we become a real threat. They convince themselves and others that violent action is the only way to defend their values.
The same fear that motivates terrorism is also at the root of intolerance. In fact, on September 11, 2001, Americans were the victims of intolerance. Men, women, and children were targeted simply because they were American or worked in America.
Since the World Trade Tower attack, there have been reports of discrimination and even physical assaults against Arab Americans. In Anchorage, Alaska, vandals wrote anti-Arab remarks and destroyed equipment at a printing company owned by an Arab American family.
In Chicago, Illinois, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a school for Arab American children. In Cleveland, Ohio, a young man drove his car through the front doors of a local mosque where Muslims meet to worship.
In Houston, Texas, a Goodyear tire store owned by an Arab American was set on fire.
In Los Angeles, California, authorities reported more than 40 hate-related incidents targeting Arab Americans within two weeks of the terror attacks including assaults and bomb threats. And in Reedley, California, an Egyptian man was shot to death in his grocery store two days after finding a death threat on the windshield of his car. The police believed he was killed because the assailants thought he was Arab.
Beyond the obvious moral problems with racial discrimination, it is also just plain bad strategy. First, it is not possible to determine someone's ethnic background just by looking at them. Different races often share similar physical characteristics, which make it hard to identify ethnicity by appearances.
In Los Angeles, a Latino man was pulled from his car and assaulted by a group of men who thought he was Middle Eastern. The assailants will serve time for assaulting someone who had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks.
Secondly, discrimination and hate crimes only serve to perpetuate hate and division. Hate doesn't teach anyone "a lesson." It is always counterproductive. Even if someone believed their cause was fully justified by the horrific toll of terrorism, punishing people because they are of the same race is useless and serves no purpose other than draining resources from the pursuit of the real criminals. If the same "guilt by association" standard was applied to the Oklahoma City bombing, we would have to condemn all white American males with military backgrounds.
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